I would like to start this discussion with some personally history. In the early 80's when I first started seeing The Boys...I just didn't get Bob. Somewhere in the mid 80's I deduced that he had a deep love for this feed-backy ....fingernails on chalk-boardy ...cat-in-a-vise(y)...kind of screech.

As I've become increasingly serious about the guitar, I began to really appreciate the gap he fills, and the texture's he provides. I even found early examples of how the feed-back could be cool. I'm thinking Dark Star's & Birdsong jams from '72 back.

Last year at the Furthur shows in Eugene, OR ...I was really diggin' Bob. He was playing that Strat predominantly...I was right down front...and he was on. Really on. Got it. Forgave him for years of Weir-dnessws. No screechy Bob.

This weekend I spent 3 days with Furthur in Portland, OR. Bob's playing the Blue Lighning Hollow (or semi-hollow) body, and the 335 (or 355) or whatever. Friday...he starts with feedback....and he rides it all weekend. I'm watching the folks around me, and I'm not the only one who's "Confused" by that sound. I've often thought (in my various altered states) that maybe Bob just see's me...and then throws in extra Errreeeeeek Errreeeeek Errreeeek just for me

Can someone enlighten me? I've heard it said that Trey rides the edge of feedback successfully. I've read it on this board that Jerry used feedback for added coolness. Is this thing Bob does amazingly difficult? Do others find it cool or pleasing or trippy? Is this part of the GD experience that I'm simply not understanding? I'm willing to stay positive about the whole thing...but it kind felt like Bob found an old golf club he loved in '85...and used it for the whole 18 holes.

Please Help!
Peace
Marty

p.s. - I'm trying to be positive about this. Sincerely. I'm hoping that it's a misunderstanding on my part. I don't have to like every aspect of everything, and the experience is not just there for me. Maybe it just not the right sound for my particular ears.

Not sure if I'm totally on track with you... but I ride the space between sustain and feedback a lot when in single note mode. I don't really 'think' about it much, but I recognize that with certain pickups, and particularly with jbl's (love the 15 even more than the 12). I have a tendency to move closer and face the speakers when I want to extend the sustain or even take it to controlled (or not) feedback. It's kind of like 'how far do you want to drip that honey across the toast'.

When I met Bobby after a Furthur show at Radio City a couple years ago, my buddy told him that his guitar tone during Fire on the Mountain was so bright that it made the fillings in his teeth hurt. Bobby just grinned and said his hearing was pretty shot and that it didn't sound very bright to HIM.

High frequencies are the first thing you lose in your hearing. So it may not sound screechy in his ears.

Sometimes Weir would go for a tone that seemed counterintuitive. I remember Jerry and Bob discussing "Lazy River Road" and Garcia remarking that he wished the band wouldn't play it quite so "politely." Weir commented that his guitar tone on it couldn't be any ruder, and Garcia laughed and said that was true. That was the abrasive, screechy slide tone, as I recall.

My hearing isn't perfect, but it was clearly affecting others. I had a couple conversations with my compatriots about the intentionality of that sound. Here is what we thought:
1) We hear the treble screech as "11" on the scale. Bob hears a "5".
2) Why isn't the FOH board shaving that a bit? Answer: "Cause Bob told the guy to put that knob on "11".
3) By Saturday we were considering making t-shirts that said "Healy was right!" or "Bob rules the Strat!".

Do you all think the hollow body contributes to the screech factor? All my hollow bodies are acoustic, and the last time I tried to mic one I nearly tore off the side of my head with the feedback.

mgbills wrote:
My hearing isn't perfect, but it was clearly affecting others. I had a couple conversations with my compatriots about the intentionality of that sound. Here is what we thought:
1) We hear the treble screech as "11" on the scale. Bob hears a "5".
2) Why isn't the FOH board shaving that a bit? Answer: "Cause Bob told the guy to put that knob on "11".
3) By Saturday we were considering making t-shirts that said "Healy was right!" or "Bob rules the Strat!".

Do you all think the hollow body contributes to the screech factor? All my hollow bodies are acoustic, and the last time I tried to mic one I nearly tore off the side of my head with the feedback.

His tone sounds the same on every guitar to my ears.

To answer #2, Bobby isn't all that present in the mains when I have seen Furthur... Disappointing.

Healy was unprofessional to Weir. He f'd with his vocals and guitar tone and ruined too many shows by acting like a bitter man with too many toys.

I was directly in front of Phil on Thursday, but somebody was consistently smoking cigs from the wrong end. Either that or he was smoking a dread he found. Either way...I had to abdicate. I found this cool spot in the left middle, to the right of the first maple, and the sound was great.

I will say that Bob did go up & down in terms of volume. I said it in the other thread, but that interplay between Phil, John, & Jeff was unbelievable. I would say they walked a fine line between Jam band & Jazz band. Very jazzy at times.

Did anybody catch the 18 or so teases coming out of that King Solomom's Marbles jam? My wife picks about 95% of teases out of the ether, and it even had her spinning.

And I'm also a Bobby convert. Took me a long time, but I learned he's the glue that's holding things together. I may break down and try a few of the Bobby lessons from Seth just to get a better understanding of what's really going on.

"Do not write so that you can be understood, write so that you cannot be misunderstood." -Epictetus

First show: 8/16/69 (Woodstock)
Last show: 3/19/95 (Unbroken Chain breakout)
Member of the Four-Decade Club
Charter Member, President & CEO of OAD (Order of the Ancient Deadheads)

"And I'm also a Bobby convert. Took me a long time, but I learned he's the glue that's holding things together."

I think this is a great take. As a "fanatical listener" since 87' I was and always will be a Jerry guy. However, the more I learn and play and discover a deeper understanding of the instrument, the more impressed I become with the nuances Bobby brings to the music. I'm probably not going to articulate this exactly right, but the voicing and subtleties Weir brings are WAY under appreciated outside of forums such as this one.

Bobby is a phenomenal player. It's just a shame he was never more prominent in the mix with the dead. He is the glue that allows jerry to play lead and phil to play low lead. I wish I could hear him better so that I could learn more. There are just a few shows that showcase what he's doing.